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Campbell Brown
Disaster in the Gulf Day 81; Is Seafood From the Gulf Safe?
Aired July 09, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody.
Tonight, on day 81 of the disaster in the Gulf, a surprising bit of good news. Could that well finally be capped this weekend? We hear from the president's point man on all this, Thad Allen.
Plus, Dr. Sanjay Gupta on seafood from the Gulf. Is it really safe?
Also tonight, the latest developments on that Russian spy swap. Just a little while ago a plane carrying several men accused of spying for the U.S. landed in Washington. Another plane carrying 10 Russian secret agents had landed in Moscow earlier today. We're going to tell you exactly how the whole thing went down.
And then a little later, a new blow for actor Mel Gibson after a charge of domestic violence. Has the Hollywood star gone too far this time?
We have a lot to get to tonight, but we are going to begin with our number-one story, the biggest spy swap since the Cold War. It sounds like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster, but we learned today the script for this story came from the highest levels of our government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Straight from the Cold War today, two planes nose to tail in a remote corner of a European airfield, a spy swap.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: A dramatic transfer shrouded in secrecy. You had 10 alleged Russian spies traded for four men held in Russia on charges of spying for the West.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night, the Russians deported from America after pleading guilty to acting as unregistered foreign agents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From a distance, waiting vans could be seen shuttling the former captives from one plane to another, as the spies literally traded places. Within 90 minutes, the planes took off. The 10 from the U.S. headed for Moscow, the four from Russia to London and Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: In a statement today, the White House said the U.S. government chose the men who were freed by the Russians. One big question in this entire mystery that hasn't really been answered until now is, just who in the world are these people, these 14 people on both sides of story who have led cloak-and-dagger lives?
Well, tonight, we have reporters from Moscow to Washington uncovering new details.
CNN's Jill Dougherty starts with the four people the U.S. is getting back in the exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOUGHERTY (voice-over): Russia's state television aired video of the men, some in cages at Russian courts traditionally used for defendants. One video in classic Cold War style shows a suspect's arrest several years ago.
The Russian government considers them spies and made them admit their guilt to get out of jail. But the state department doesn't acknowledge the charges against any of them. The Kremlin identified the men by name Thursday. All U.S. officials say is several are in poor health.
MARK TONER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: I have nothing for you.
DOUGHERTY: The best known prisoner, Igor Sutyagin, arms control expert for a Moscow think tank. The Russians say he gave military secrets to a British company working with the CIA and found him guilty of treason, sentencing him to 15 years in a high security prison.
He has consistently maintained his innocence. Alexander Zaporozhsky reportedly is a former colonel in Russia's Counterintelligence Service. According to Russian media he worked in the U.S. and retired here. When he returned to Russia he was arrested and found guilty of high treason for giving the CIA secret information on Russian agents.
He served seven years of an 18-year sentence and reportedly has family in the U.S. Russian media say the third man released, Sergei Skripal, is a former military intelligence agent. He was serving a 13-year sentence for spying on behalf of British intelligence. He reportedly has diabetes.
And then there is Gennady Vasilenko, former KGB major reportedly arrested 12 years ago for contacts with the CIA and arrested again on illegal weapons charges.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And Jill Dougherty is joining me right now.
And, Jill, we're hearing that the White House is putting out new details about how the arrests and the swap actually happened, how it all came down. What can you tell us?
DOUGHERTY: Yes, they did late this afternoon, Campbell. And what they're saying, I think the most important thing is that it was a U.S. idea to do this swap, and the way they lay it out is, back in February, they were briefing the White House, they meaning the CIA, the FBI, Department of Justice, were briefing the White House, and they were talking about, you know, generally that arrests might be imminent.
They had been looking at these people for at least 10 years. Then in June, June 11, they briefed President Obama. They explained to him how the operation was working, who are the individuals involved, and also they said there were some travel plans. People were going to be traveling this summer. So, it was time to pick them up and end the operation.
At that point, they begin to think about a swap, because what are you going to do with these Russian agents in the United States? They define four people that they wanted to get out. They say they based it on health, humanitarian concerns and also national security.
Then Leon Panetta, the head of the CIA, talks, begins these negotiations. They talk, and it goes pretty quickly. They give the names and the Russians very quickly accept the names of those four people.
BROWN: So, Jill, was it an even trade?
DOUGHERTY: Well, I think you would have to say that certainly the United States got four people that they wanted. Some of them are sick. They wanted to get them out.
What the Russians got, I think you would have to say they got the -- they got their people out so they wouldn't have to have them on trial here, and potentially release some information about how they collect information in the United States.
But, you know, it's a good question, Campbell. What did the Russians get for their money from these people? Still kind of unclear.
BROWN: All right. Jill Dougherty, tonight.
And, Jill, we're going to turn to that question right now. We want to talk about that group of spies that Russia wanted back. The 10 spies are already back in Moscow, less than 24 hours after appearing in an American courtroom.
CNN's Matthew Chance has been following that side of the story from the Russian capital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the 10 Russian spies deported from the United States arrived in Moscow and were quickly spirited away in blacked-out vehicles.
We expect they will be debriefed by their Russian intelligence handlers. Their movements and contacts in the past few weeks, months and years are likely to be closely scrutinized by agents assessing what went wrong and what blew of cover of his group of self-confessed covert operatives.
Earlier, there were echoes of the Cold War, with the high drama being played out at the airport in Vienna, two planes parked wing to wing on the tarmac, one carrying the 10 from the United States, the other carrying the four released and pardoned by Russia, the biggest spy swap since the end of the Cold War taking place on the neutral territory of Vienna International Airport.
That it happened so quickly after these arrests were made by the U.S. is perhaps a sign of the times that both Moscow and Washington keen to reset their sometimes strained relations want to put this embarrassing episode behind them as soon as possible. But it is also a stark reminder that the U.S. and Russia may no longer be bitter enemies, but they are still not the closest of friends.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And coming up next, we have seen what the disastrous Gulf oil spill has done on the surface. Tonight, we are going to take a look underwater, as our CNN crew suits up and dives in for a very different perspective.
And what about the seafood? How is the government making sure it's safe to eat? We're going to go to where it's actually being tested now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: On day 81 of the disaster in the Gulf, we are finally getting what may be some good news tonight.
Listen to what the president's point man in the Gulf, Thad Allen, told Wolf Blitzer just a little while ago about BP's latest attempt to plug the well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN (RET.), NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER: Well, it would involve removing the old cap and then unbolting that stub of pipe that was cut off the marine riser pipe, and then putting into place a new containment cap. And that could take three to four days, but, at the end of that, if we are successful, then we have the potential to shut in the well and achieve containment of the oil.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All of the oil would be contained; is that what you are saying?
ALLEN: We have the potential to do that, yes.
BLITZER: All of the oil would be captured on these containment ships on the surface, and no oil would spew, assuming all this works well?
But during those three or four days...
(CROSSTALK)
ALLEN: Wolf -- Wolf, if I just could correct...
BLITZER: Yes, go ahead. Yes.
ALLEN: ... what we are going to do is put a valve on top of the current well. And our first attempt will be to just close the valve and see if we can shut in the well altogether.
If there was a need to actually produce addition oil to relieve the pressure, we certainly are capable of doing that. But our first intent would be to try and put a valve on top of the well that could shut it in.
BLITZER: And would that mean that you no longer would need to work on those two relief wells that are supposed to be operational by August, some time in August, to shut it down completely?
ALLEN: No, Wolf. We would still need to do that.
If we were able close the top of the well, that is only closing it temporarily. The final solution are the relief wells and they are proceeding apace as well. But this would significantly improve our chances, because we could create pressure at the top of the well that would facilitate filling the well with mud when we are ready to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And that brings us to our number-one national story: a CNN exclusive, underwater in the Gulf.
We have all seen the pictures of oil spreading over the surface and along hundreds of miles of beaches, but today our crew went below the surface with Philippe Cousteau to see just how far down the damage actually goes. And take a look what they found, some pretty dramatic pictures.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're about 48 miles away from the Deepwater Horizon spill. And if you look in the water, you can see that it's cloudy right now. All these little pieces in front of us, it just looks like -- almost like you shook a tree or some kind of little plant. There's just little particles here all through the water.
PHILIPPE COUSTEAU, CEO, EARTHECHO INTERNATIONAL: And that's what's so concerning about this, is that the oil isn't going to the surface. It is distributing throughout the water column.
And it's springtime, this critical time of year, when fish and other organisms are breeding and laying eggs into the water, and it's floating through it. It's a deadly toxin. And so what we're seeing here, even though it's not that big thick oil, this is still a big, big problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Pretty astounding to see those pictures.
Another big problem in the Gulf, questions about whether the seafood is safe to eat. The FDA has said that fish and seafood harvested from unaffected waters in the Gulf are safe. And the government also says no contaminated products have made it to the market or to your plate, but -- two big promises, but how can we actually be sure?
And so, to find out, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta spent some time at the place where seafood taken from the Gulf is actually being tested.
Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behind these doors, huge decisions are being made. Tests that determine whether or not the seafood in the Gulf is safe for us to eat. It looks like a scene straight out of a crime scene show.
(on camera): What you're looking at is a chain of custody record. That's because the fish that are being tested are literally treated like evidence. You've got to keep track of where it's been and who's handled it.
This is the testing facility. These are fish over here that are being tested, trying to figure out if, indeed, they are safe. Aluminum foil, special instruments, workers wearing gloves. They want to be very careful not to contaminate any of these fish, to make sure their records and their testing is as accurate as possible.
(voice-over): Thousands of fish being tested since April 28. That's just a week after the oil spill. They're being brought here in these huge ice units.
(on camera): We're here in Mississippi. Got a lot of fish behind us here.
JOHN STEIN, NOAA: Yes.
GUPTA: Bagged and tagged.
STEIN: Bagged and tagged, yes, they are. Very important so we know where they come from.
GUPTA: This is part of the process?
STEIN: Part of the process.
GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. John Stein, he's head of NOAA's seafood safety testing program.
(on camera): You go around the country, John, and you talk to people about what's happening here in the Gulf. The question always comes up, is the seafood safe?
STEIN: Yes.
GUPTA: And you say?
STEIN: Yes. We have an extensive program in place. It's a cooperative program between NOAA, FDA, EPA, and the Gulf states. And we're all working together to ensure that seafood is safe.
GUPTA (voice-over): But no one can be sure. And that's because we don't know exactly how much oil is leaking and more importantly, exactly where it is going.
(on camera): We've been talking to a lot of scientists, and you may know some of this. But they say, you know, the oil, as it starts to break up, you get all these various compounds that are not oil, so to speak, anymore. They're just these aromatic hydrocarbons, these volatile compounds. And they can go all over the place.
And that's what I think makes it is so difficult. How do you know if it's kind of oil, per se, but still some of the toxic elements land further away in an area that doesn't have oil?
STEIN: Correct. So that's why this testing program deals both with the sensory, to be able to detect oil and those aromatic hydrocarbons and then the analytical chemistry to also detect those aromatic hydrocarbons.
GUPTA: So to give you a little peek behind the curtain into this room, which is where sensory testing takes place. They have, typically, testers all up and down here. One of the first things you do is actually, this is uncooked fish. You just get a little smell of this. And then determine what you think the score is, what the likelihood that this is contaminated.
(voice-over): The next step, the taste test. (on camera): So you've got your nose. You've got your sense of smell working and now is the sense of taste. They pointed out to me that, even if this was contaminated, eating a small amount like this would not be problematic. You eat this. You don't swallow it, they say, because you don't want to ruin the rest of your testing. So here it goes.
Tastes pretty good, as well. I'm not an expert. That seems pretty good to me.
(voice-over): The researchers say a contaminated fish has a distinct taste; it's unmistakable.
But if all this sounds subjective to you, you're right. That's why there are ten different testers, all of them hidden from each other. They can't even see each other's reaction while they're testing. But all of these tests are only for oil compounds. Turns out no one is testing these fish for possible contamination by that controversial dispersant, Corexit.
(on camera): Diepoxybutane, I believe it's called, one of the -- one of the particularly toxic chemicals in the Corexit. You can't -- there's no chemical test being done right now?
STEIN: There's no -- there's not a chemical test for that right now.
GUPTA (voice-over): What? No test? So how can the guarantee of safety be complete? We decided to dig deeper to clarify.
NOAA says, in an abundance of caution, they're currently developing a chemical test for dispersants. It just isn't ready yet. And it can't come soon enough for the millions of people who want to eat these fish and those who make a living catching them.
(on camera): Based on everything you know now, how long is it going to stay closed?
STEIN: It's going to stay closed until the well, the oil leak is stopped. Once the oil leak is stopped, then we'll have a very aggressive and very comprehensive survey of that area for reopening.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us live right now from New Orleans.
And, Sanjay, that is incredible to me, that they are not testing for dispersants at this point. Do you have any sense, having talked to everybody and investigated this, when that's going to start happening?
GUPTA: They say the test is in development now.
You know, for some time, Campbell, they weren't sure exactly which chemicals or which components of the dispersants they should test for. If you look at the list, there's 12 things that they test for chemically, but those are oil breakdown products.
So, figuring out what they're going to test for specifically was the first step. And now they're developing the test. Here's what they told me, Campbell. They said, when it comes to dispersants, they don't bioaccumulate in fish.
What that means is, they don't build up. So, even if a fish is exposed to it, they say it's unlikely that a human who eats that fish is going to have an exposure. Obviously, it's still of concern to people, which is why they say they're going to develop the test out of an abundance of caution.
But as things stand now, there isn't a test. So, they're just being really strict on where you can and cannot fish.
BROWN: And, Sanjay, those 10 people taste-testing fish wouldn't even let you put a camera on them, and they are under a lot of pressure right now, aren't they?
(CROSSTALK)
GUPTA: Especially the local tasters. These are very well-trained people. They say, with 90 percent accuracy, Campbell, through smelling uncooked fish, smelling cooked fish and then eating it, they can tell if a fish has been tainted in some way. They can detect up to 10 parts per million of these various chemicals.
So, it's a very sophisticated process. But here's the concern, is that this is a huge industry out here, Campbell. So, if there's a local tester, if it somehow comes to be known that that person actually said the fish was tainted, that that area has to stay closed in terms of fishing, they're worried about backlash, which is why they -- some of them didn't even want to be film when we were doing this piece.
BROWN: Wow.
Sanjay Gupta for us -- as always, Sanjay, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
GUPTA: Thank you, Campbell.
BROWN: Coming up: African-American fishermen especially hard hit by the massive spill in the Gulf. Our Roland Martin went down to talk with some of them about how they're surviving the disaster. And that's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Among the hardest-hit victims of the oil spill, African- American fishermen in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Those are people whose families have fished the Gulf for generations, fathers and grandfathers fighting to survive after months being out of work.
And Roland Martin traveled down to Plaquemines Parish to tell their story and to give voice to their frustration.
I spoke with Roland about his visit a little earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Roland, a lot of people down there very angry that BP has brought in outsiders to help in the cleanup effort, especially when the spill has put so many locals out of work.
And I know you caught up with a group of African-American fishermen who vented their anger at a meeting with Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser. And let's take a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... called to drop paperwork ever since Monday. And every time we call to check on it, the paperwork is lost.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's to the point where we're about to crack.
BILLY NUNGESSER, PRESIDENT, PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LOUISIANA: I know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You hate for anything to start happening around here, but, I mean, it's -- what's their last resort?
NUNGESSER: I know. I'm so sick of this. I have been to Houma 15 times. I can't yell or scream anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What they doing is, they're calling you, telling you, you ain't meeting the qualifications, kicking you out, and shoving somebody in that they know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Soon, we all take our boat and go out there and do something, stop the other fish -- the other people that's working.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want to bring any havoc or anything to Plaquemines. We love Plaquemines. That's where we was born and raised here. But yet we can't work, and we got boats from all elsewhere all working.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our life is lost. Already, it's about gone. We can't fish, can't catch oysters or nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what we do for a living. Them guys are out there just collect a check. When you see 15, 20 boats tied up and 10, 15 (INAUDIBLE) you know, not worrying about what's going on.
(CROSSTALK)
NUNGESSER: They don't care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, once they make their money, they gone. And we are stuck here starving.
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So, Roland, is there anything being done to try to address this problem?
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, in talking with folks there, they're pretty much focusing on the people who they say have the skill set.
Now, what Nungesser said is that what they were doing is actually retrofitting a lot of those boats to be able to begin to skim oil. And he even said, look, all these people they have brought in, send them to Florida, send them to Alabama. Send them elsewhere, but allow local people.
And, Campbell, we saw the exact same thing after Hurricane Katrina, where people were saying, wait a minute, you need to have the local people apply for the jobs first, and then you open it up to the rest of the folks in Louisiana and then outsiders. These are the folks who are living there, trying to feed their kids, trying to send them to school, trying to buy clothes. They literally have no money. A lot of these folks have not been able to earn income since April and May. Think about it. That's months.
BROWN: I know.
And, Roland, I know you also spoke with a local -- some of the local fishermen, who also felt very frustrated with BP's efforts in general. And let's listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN: Obviously, people are concerned about the spill itself. They're still trying to plug the leak. But this rain and being the middle of the hurricane season, is that really causing more stress, because this just may go further than people thought?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. And it's not only just bringing stress on just the actual fishermen themselves. That stress is carrying on into his families now, because they're concerned. With the southeast wind, we know it doesn't take much to push the water over these levees, and then we're going to have oil all over in our houses, and then how long it will be again before we could come back home?
And we still have family scattered in Arkansas, Baton Rouge that's commuting back and forwards still today. So, you know, we add all of this up, and it doesn't look -- it doesn't paint a good picture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So, how hard has the African-American community really been hit?
MARTIN: Well, in this particular area here, the oil has not reached there, but they have not been allowed to actually fish. Secondly, a lot of these folks lost their boats in Hurricane Katrina.
The gentleman I just talked to, he had five boats. Now he's down to two. The actual harbor we actually shot that in, I mean, it was I would say a third full. That's literally how many boats they have lost. And in this particular area, you have African-Americans. You have Vietnamese. You have Hispanic. You have whites as well, but this area was largely African-American.
And they're sitting here saying, we're dying on the vine here. And so what they're trying to say is, to the president, to Thad Allen, the commander, look, you have to help the local people first.
BROWN: All right, Roland Martin for us tonight, a good point there.
Roland,, thank you so much.
MARTIN: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Roland will have more on this on "Washington Watch With Roland Martin" on the cable network TV One Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.
Another disaster not far from the Gulf, the earthquake in Haiti -- six months later, there is a battle that is pitting survivors against each other. We're going to take you to Port-au-Prince.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: It's hard to believe, but Monday will mark six months since the devastating earthquake in Haiti. More than 217,000 people were killed, another 300,000 injured. More than $650 million in aid has been sent, but Haiti still today a nation in ruins. More than a million people remain displaced, and it's creating growing tension among many of the survivors.
CNN's Ivan Watson has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Haitians exercising in the steamy Caribbean heat trying to keep shape in a gym that's located just footsteps away from a camp city full of homeless. Vladimir Saint Louis is the owner of this struggling sports complex.
(on camera): How many people live here today?
VLADIMIR SAINT LOUIS, OWNER, HENFRASA SPORTS CENTER: There's about 7,000 people here.
WATSON: On your soccer field?
SAINT LOUIS: Correct.
WATSON: This is your land, though?
SAINT LOUIS: This is literally -- yes. This is the 400 meter track and this is the southern tip. This is my land. This is still part of the same property you came into.
WATSON (voice-over): Saint Louis says thousands of desperate people climbed over broken walls and started camping out here the night after the earthquake.
(on camera): Are people living on the tennis courts?
SAINT LOUIS: Sometimes. Now that the World Cup is -- yes, they play soccer here now.
WATSON (voice-over): But now, six months later, there is no government plan in place to resettle these desperate people. Saint Louis says the squatters have cost him more than 50 percent of his business.
SAINT LOUIS: Well, the government is certainly not taking the responsibility that they must. You know? Because we're now almost mid-July, and this is not the only campsite in Port-au-Prince.
WATSON: Six months after the earthquake, an estimated 1.5 million people are living in other squalid camps like this. The conditions are hot, filthy and dangerous if a hurricane strikes.
20-year-old Lucien Frantz shows us the shelter he built for his mother and two sisters.
LUCIEN FRANTZ, CAMP RESIDENT: I'm living in a bad position.
WATSON: He says the plastic roof does not keep out the rain.
FRANTZ: The wind got out of hand (ph). The wind is falling on everybody.
WATSON (on camera): It comes in?
FRANTZ: Yes.
WATSON: Yes?
FRANTZ: It comes in.
WATSON (voice-over): As hard as this is, life may soon get worse. A judge recently showed up to inform the camp's 1,000 residents that the owner of his land wants them to leave his property.
"They asked us to leave, but we don't have anywhere else to go," says Lucien's mother. We're waiting for the authorities to tell us what to do. In some cases, land owners have taken matters into their own hands, pushing people off their land.
(on camera): How many people were living here?
EMMANUEL AUGUSTE, CAMP VOLUNTEER: It was -- 52 families.
WATSON: Fifty-two?
AUGUSTE: Fifty-two.
WATSON: And where are they now?
AUGUSTE: They're -- they go around -- they go to other camps.
WATSON (voice-over): Aide workers say they are increasingly being called in to mediate land disputes.
IMOGEN WALL, UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN SPOKESPERSON: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is public land this camp is on. But a lot of camps that people just set up the day after the quake, it's on private land, or it's in buildings such as schools which need to start functioning again, and land owners in order to get their businesses starting again, often, you know, they need access to their property.
WATSON: The government says it's still working on a plan for resettlement of Haiti's armies of homeless. In the meantime, property owner Vladimir Saint Louis can only watch as the camp on his soccer field becomes more and more permanent.
(on camera): You have a barber shop here.
SAINT LOUIS: Oh, my God. This is -- this is only -- this is not even half of it. There's a barber shop. There's a beauty parlor. There's a cyber cafe. There's a hotel. One of those is a hotel. People come and pay per night. Pay per hour. Pay per night. I swear to God.
WATSON (voice-over): May be a long, long time before Vladimir Saint Louis gets his land back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And Ivan Watson is joining me right now from Port-au-Prince.
Ivan, I understand that you just talked to the prime minister and asked him about relocating these people. What did he tell you? Is there any kind of long-term resettle plan?
WATSON: He said that the government right now, Campbell, can't come up with that plan until donor governments that have pledged billions of dollars to Haiti actually hand over that money. He says for now, they're frozen. He says a bigger priority for the government to work on is to try to prepare these hundreds of thousands, actually 1.5 million homeless people who are so vulnerable, to prepare and protect them from the threat of hurricane. We're coming into hurricane season, and if you can see in the half-light behind me, people are living in really shoddy, makeshift shacks that can be really vulnerable to winds and rain if one of these terrible storms strikes Haiti -- Campbell.
BROWN: And is he suggesting, Ivan, aid money is not really coming in? It's just been pledged?
WATSON: He is. There's a bit of a blame game going on here, Campbell. The government, the Haitian government saying, donor governments haven't handed up over enough of their money. Meanwhile, some of the aid organizations on the ground here and some donor governments, for instance, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, published a report saying, criticizing the Haitian government for not showing enough leadership.
One example I can perhaps offer. You know, we've been back for two days on the ground here. There is rubble everywhere here in central Port-au-Prince. Roads still blocked six months after the earthquake by cinder blocks laying in the streets, and I haven't seen a bulldozer yet trying to clean any of that up -- Campbell.
BROWN: All right. Ivan Watson joining us tonight. Ivan, really appreciate it. Thank you.
And coming up, back here in the U.S., we're going to talk about the LeBron James backlash. He may be making a lot of friends in Miami, but he's leaving a bad taste in his hometown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Down but not out in Denver. Homeless teenagers sleeping on the streets of Colorado's Mile High City refused to give up hope. We have a great story for you ahead. But first, Joe Johns is here with a look at some of the other stories we're following tonight.
Hey, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Campbell. The Justice Department announced today it is investigating the racially charge shooting of an unarmed black man by a white transit police officer in Oakland, California. The former cop was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last night. Hours later, protests on the streets of Oakland turned violent. Seventy-eight people were arrested. Demonstrators expressing outrage. The former officer probably faces just four years in prison. There had been expectations of a tougher punishment.
Researchers today announced a dramatic step forward towards an HIV vaccine. Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases say they discovered three human antibodies that could lead to a vaccine. The antibodies produced by the immune systems of certain patients effectively neutralized more than 90 percent of a group of HIV strains by attaching themselves to the viruses and disabling them. HIV-AIDS is the world's leading infectious killer, according to the World Health Organization.
In political news, sort of, former President Clinton is in the middle of a busy wedding season. The Clintons' daughter, Chelsea, is getting married this month, we knew that. And tonight, "The Associated Press" reports the former president will preside at the wedding of New York Congressman Anthony Weiner. He is engaged to a long-time aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
And talk about a labor of love, Tamara Kankowski of Cincinnati, Ohio, gave birth this week to twin sons, each weighing at least or around 10 pounds. That's way higher than the average of six pounds for twin babies at birth. Little Lucas and Dillon will have plenty of company. They have five siblings. Welcome to the family, guys. And 10 pounds apiece, they just grow them big in Ohio. Whew.
BROWN: I hope she had a C-section. Joe Johns, thank you. Appreciate it.
JOHNS: Good night.
BROWN: We'll see you in a bit.
Hollywood heavyweight Mel Gibson is in trouble again, apparently caught on tape in a racist sexist rant against his ex-girlfriend. The latest in this starry saga when we come back.
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BROWN: The story getting all the buzz tonight from LeBron James' backlash. Just hours after "King James" announced he will play for the Miami Heat, a wave of criticism followed. You know the expression, don't let the screen door hit you on your way out. It's kind of like that. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER: It hurts me to say that I'm moving on, but I have to do what's best.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: LeBron James' cliffhanger is over. The shock wave has begun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The loudest cry came from his hometown of Cleveland where shock and disappointment quickly turned to anger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's absolute worse decision ever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the Cleveland Cavaliers' owner is not taking the news well. In a stunning letter, he just ripped into LeBron James accusing him of deserting Cleveland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a scathing rebuke released last night, Gilbert blasted the display as "self-promotional" and "narcissistic," calling James' actions "cowardly" and a "shocking act of disloyalty."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Of course, not everybody is bashing LeBron. Miami Heat are throwing a rather large party tonight to celebrate his arrival.
And there he goes again. Remember Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic tirade following his drunk driving arrest four years ago? Well, now, Gibson is under investigation for domestic abuse involving his ex-girlfriend and allegedly caught on tape raging at his ex-girlfriend hurling a racial slur. He's one of Hollywood's biggest stars flaming out. Finally, here's CNN entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson with a look.
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BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not the kind of spotlight Mel Gibson wants. The actor/director is allegedly caught on tape berating and cursing at his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva while hurling a racial epitaph. Entertainment outlet Radar Online released this explosive audio on its Web site today, a shocking conversation purportedly between Gibson and Grigorieva, who is also the mother of his young daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MNAN: You got out in public and it's a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) embarrassment to me. You look like a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) on heat. And if you get raped by a pack of (EXPLETIVE DELETED) it will be your fault.
All right? Because you provoked it, you are provocatively dressed all the time, with your fake boobs you feel you have to show off. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: CNN cannot independently validate the voice is actually Gibson's and the actors reps have neither confirmed nor denied the tape's existence or authenticity. His publicist simply says, "We can't comment due to legal nature of the matter." But the voice sounds like Gibson's, and Grigorieva's publicist tells CNN the female voice is in fact Grigorieva's. The publicist, Steven Geppi (ph), also tells CNN the transcript of the conversation on Radar Online is accurate, but that Grigorieva did not provide the tape to the media and doesn't know how Radar Online obtained it.
In excerpts from unreleased portions of the audiotape, Radar Online reports Gibson angrily claimed Grigorieva lied about having breast implants saying in part, quote, "They're too big and they look stupid. They look like a Vegas B, like a Vegas whore, and you go around sashaying in your tight clothes and stuff. I won't stand for that anymore."
The vitriol continues as the man purported to be Gibson abusively addresses child custody and their relationship. "Stay in the f-ing house. I'm not giving it to you, but I'll let you stay there. OK? And I will take care of my child but I don't want you anymore."
Radar Online claims the source told them Grigorieva recorded the conversation because she feared for her safety. Gibson and Grigorieva are reportedly locked in a custody dispute over their child. Gibson is currently being investigated by Malibu, California, authorities for an alleged domestic violence incident involving Grigorieva in January. And CNN has confirmed entertainment agency William Morris Endeavor no longer represents Gibson.
Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And joining us now is Jim Moret, who is chief correspondent with "Inside Edition" and author of the new book "The Last Day of My Life."
Jim, that was a little disturbing to say the least, listening to what he said there. Now, this new development we just heard Brooke report that William Morris Endeavor has dropped him as a client. I guess that was kind of a no-brainer, huh?
JIM MORET, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, "INSIDE EDITION": Well, yes, and there's also a report that Leonardo DiCaprio was planning to work with him in an upcoming film about vikings. He's dropped out. No indication whether it's because of this, but clearly that's the perception. And this is bad.
You know, there's two independent problems for Mel Gibson. One is the legal problem with the sheriff's investigation for domestic violence and the other, an equally big problem for him is the perception problem -- the public relations nightmare that this is creating. You mentioned that 2006 arrest and that rant, the anti-Semitic rant. This compounds that and many people never forgave him for that last one.
BROWN: So is this the end of his career, finally?
MORET: Look, he's extremely wealthy. He can finance his own films. That doesn't mean he'll get big names to work with him. He can continue to work. But whether he'll ever be rehabilitated to the level that he was, he was beloved in Hollywood, and he was one of the favorite stars around the world. I think that may be over for him.
BROWN: But look at Charlie Sheen. Because, you know, he's faced charges he's assaulted his wife. It's hardly the first time he's been in trouble with the law, and yet he's still I think the highest paid TV star there is in Hollywood. What's the difference there?
MORET: It may sound crazy, but Charlie Sheen has always been perceived as the bad boy. He's hung out with prostitutes admittedly. He's had drug problems. He's had drinking problems. He's always been the bad guy. Nothing that he's done lately really surprises people.
Mel Gibson was really put up on a pedestal. He's up there. He was up there with Tom Hanks beloved, not just for his artistic work. And he was an Oscar winner as a director, as an actor. He's a producer, but he was also perceived to be a good guy. He was a family man, married for over 30 years. All of that has been shattered. Charlie Sheen didn't have that to shatter because he was always in a different level.
BROWN: So, Hollywood aside and people opting to shut him out, how much do you think audiences really care about an actor's personal life or at the end of the day do they just want a good movie or to be entertained?
MORET: I think sometimes they care a lot and you're going to see it perhaps at the box office with Mel Gibson.
BROWN: All right, Jim Moret with us tonight. Jim, good to see you. Really appreciate you coming on.
MORET: Thank you, Campbell.
BROWN: "LARRY KING LIVE" just minutes away now. Queen Latifah is his guest tonight. And coming up next, kids living on the streets in one of America's most wholesome cities with a story you have to see.
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BROWN: Tonight, we want to open your eyes to a disturbing reality and a place that you might not expect. Denver, Colorado. Just last year, a Pew study found the Mile High City to be the most popular big city in America, but living on the streets and in the shadows, teenagers who are homeless. And it's an issue CNN journalist Jim Spellman feels very passionate about and spent weeks covering. After you watch his report, you'll understand why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
When you were 18 years old, how did you spend the summer?
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN ALL-PLATFORM JOURNALIST (voice-over): This is Belle.
"BELLE," HOMELESS TEENAGER: Yes, b-e-l-l-e.
SPELLMAN: She's spending her 13th summer on the street.
"BELLE": You think about, are you going to make it the next day? What are you going to eat? Where are you going to sleep?
SPELLMAN: She's homeless and a prostitute. Those cuts on her face? She says her pimp beat her up.
Belle is among hundreds of young people living on the street in Denver, Colorado. Most of the kids say they left an abusive or neglectful situation at home.
This is Gucci.
(on camera): When were you taken away from your mom?
"GUCCI," HOMELESS TEENAGER: When I was 6 years old. Drugs.
SPELLMAN (voice-over): For Gucci, life is all about survival.
"GUCCI": I stayed in stairwells -- alleys. Every road has its obstacles, so I'm going through some obstacles now.
SPELLMAN: For many of them, the closest thing they have to home now is Sox Place, a nonprofit drop-in center. This is Sox.
DOYLE "SOX" ROBINSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SOX PLACE: They're very damaged -- emotionally, socially spiritually. It shakes my faith in people. How can we allow this to happen in our own country?
SPELLMAN: Some form families. If you squint hard enough, they might even look like your own.
This is Devin and Joe. They've been together three years. They live in a tent near the freeway.
"DEVIN," HOMELESS: I love you.
JOE, HOMELESS: I love you, too.
SPELLMAN: Their son is due in September.
"DEVIN": I hope that he doesn't have to deal with all this. The stuff that we're going through.
SPELLMAN: Meet Lokki, Tripp and Magic. They're part of a street family called the juggalos." Juggalos started as fans of the rap duo Insane Clown Posse. But for the street kids of Denver, it's come to mean much more. "LOKKI," HOMELESS: Juggalos started as a family for outcast people that don't feel like they have family. Other people see it as a gang, but we just look out for each other.
"TRIPP," HOMELESS: If one juggalo is in need, you know, if we can help them out, we will. You know?
"MAGIC," HOMELESS: Like, some people choose that way instead of, like their home life, if it's not OK.
SPELLMAN: They spend their days together on the street and their nights here.
(on camera): This is where you guys live?
"LOKKI": Yes.
"MAGIC": Yes.
"LOKKI": Most of us, we call home.
SPELLMAN (voice-over): About 10 juggalos live underneath this highway overpass.
"MAGIC": Some people just don't have the option to go home.
SPELLMAN: It's an unlikely spot to look for hope, but listen to the kids on the street and you'll find it.
"GUCCI": I want to have a loving -- loving, caring family.
"BELLE": My life isn't going to end up this way. No, I'm not a failure. I'm going to sit here and be on the streets all my life. I'm going to sit there and make something of myself, you know.
"MAGIC": You know, if you make every day the best, even if you are on the streets, there's always a reason to smile.
"GUCCI": I have a dream, and I'm going to go to that dream. I'm going to stare my dream in his face and I'm going to shake its hand. And I'm going to say, tag along with me.
SPELLMAN: For Gucci and the others, you can still have hope, even if you don't have a home.
Jim Spellman, CNN, Denver, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And "LARRY KING LIVE" is going to start in just a few moments. But up next, tonight's "Punch Line." A little humor over the border.
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DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": So the deal is, in Arizona they don't like immigrants. And I was thinking that's odd, because right across the river there in California, they elected one governor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Now it's time for the addition of "Punch Line," the best of late night. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Well, the big story in Washington is the Obama administration had the Justice Department file a lawsuit to block Arizona's tough new immigration law which was supposed to go into effect at the end of July. Luckily, it's not until then. Imagine if it went into effect today? They'd have to cancel next Tuesday's all-star baseball game. Oh, yes.
CRAIG FERGUSON, HOST, "LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON": People are excited about the source of biography, though, because Mark Twain gave explicit instructions in his will that it couldn't be published until 100 years after his death. Because apparently you tax people in the book, he disses them as the young folk say. He wanted to make sure that they weren't alive, so he wouldn't (INAUDIBLE). I'm thinking 100 years? That's a bit excessive. Like for some of his enemies' babies or something like that?
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": British Petroleum now says that they can clean things up. That's what they say. Don't worry. Not a problem. We're British petroleum. We can clean things up. Have you ever been in one of their restrooms?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And that's it for now. We'll see you on Monday. Have a great weekend, everybody.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
